Cakey-Oh-Cakey

hello everyone!

first off, i got my dates mixed up and i actually have a little less than three weeks left! i'm feeling a bit relieved because two weeks didn't sound like enough time!

special guest night on wednesday went really well. Judy came and talked about HIV/AIDS. She organized her talk by defining HIV/AIDS and it's origin, discussing causes/preventions, explaining symptoms, ways to care for AIDS patients while taking precautions for your own health, and our attitudes/mindsets towards people infected with the disease. She was very open in her talk and gave people the chance to ask questions. At the end she urged the class that now that they have this information they will be held accountable to taking precautions in their lives and educating the people around them. I was very pleased with how it went. it was funny how awkward parts of the lecture were, and we were grown people!

on friday we had our second test and workshops. the scores on the test were a wider range than the first and were a better reflection of where people are in their learning. the workshops were amazing! my group baked a cake and then our whole class ate it in the evening. it was everyone's first time baking a cake, and i had adult women with families in my group! so that was a blessing. when we ate it together they sang "the cake song" which is a Swahili song about a cake! it was priceless! it basically goes, "Cakey-Oh-Cakey" with lots of dancing and motioning to the cake. Claude's group made their classroom into a business import/export office. one side called in orders and the other received orders and mailed them off. and the third group did preaching and got really relevant vocab and Bible verses.

On Sunday i went to a church that two of my students go to. the UK DTS team preached and lead the service. it was a lot of fun watching the team instead of being involved with it. it gave me a chance to experience what it is like to be ministered to by a visiting outreach team. it was great! it really felt like something special and out of the ordinary. it encouraged me in doing outreaches, that they do bless the people on the receiving end (at least it blessed me!).

on the subject of cakes, all the kids on the base ask me "when is your happy birthday?" they never separate happy from birthday.

three of my friends just got back from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro! they said it rained a lot but was amazing. it took them 7 days to climb up and 2 days to hike down.

other news, i have a cold. so please pray that it will go away quickly. it's already improved since yesterday but it's still in me. not fun. also pray for me as i get everything organized for Becka since i'm leaving a week earlier than her. pray that i will get all the grades situated and loose ends in order.

i hope you are all doing very well! God bless,
Christina